My question is i have a budgie that has pink above its beck i know its over 12mths of age what i wont to?

Question

know is how do i tell if it is a boy or a girl two of my hens have laid eggs and i just thought that if she was female she would be laying the Bird is in good so i know that is not the problem is this a different type of budgie. my next question can what is egg bound

Answer 1

Yes, she is a female.

BTW the pink thing above its beak is called a "Cere" pronounced like "Sear"

Answer 2

When budgies reach maturity a pink cere indicates female that is not currently in breeding condition,  however certain coloured males keep their baby coloured ceres (translucent purpley pink). These mutations are inos (albino, lutino, creamino) dark-eyed clear, lacewing, fallow and recessive pieds. Females of these mutations will get a brown / tan cere when they are in breeding condition.

If your bird is one of the above mutations it is possible that it is male. If not one of these mutations it will be female.

Answer 3

Yes your budgie is a female.  Males will have a blue cere when they reach adulthood.

Egg bound is a condition where they hen is either not conditioned (due to lack of exercise and free flight) or calcium deficient from laying eggs so she'll produce either soft eggs (not enough calcium) or her muscles cannot expel the egg and it gets lodged in her pelvis.  Egg binding is nearly always fatal, especially if it's not caught in time to do anything about it.  If the hen struggles for even an hour trying to lay the egg and cannot pass it, she will die of shock.

You can prevent egg binding by not allowing your birds to breed continuously, making sure your hens keep fit by allowing them plenty of free flight time to keep their muscles in top condition, and providing a good quality calcium source.  However, just providing calcium is not enough unless it can be absorbed so you can use full spectrum lights around your bird areas or supplement with Vitamin D3 to aid in calcium absorption.

If you know your hen is laying eggs and you suspect she is egg bound you need to take her to your avian vet.  Hens will usually sit at the bottom of the cage in a puffed up condition and start rocking back and forth and even panting when they become egg bound.

Hope this helps answer your questions.